The present invention relates generally to the art of hand-held hair dryers and the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to hair dryers of the type which focus the forced air to a common point for enhanced drying conditions.
Hand-held hair dryers have been provided in a variety of configurations. Typically, such hair dryers are constructed having a housing defining an air intake and an air outlet. An electric motor is provided to drive an internal fan, which draws air from the ambient environment into the air intake. The air is forced across a heating element toward the air outlet. Often, the housing will include a lateral handle such that the overall device has a "gun-like" configuration.
The heated air will often pass directly from the air outlet of the housing, thereby assuming a generally columnar flow pattern as it exits. In some cases, diffusers or other such accessories may be situated on the end of the dryer housing to alter the flow pattern of the heated air. Conventional flow patterns, however, have generally tended to flatten hair against the surface of the scalp during use. The heated air encounters difficulty in getting under the flattened hair, thus prolonging the drying process.
In prior work, the present inventor has developed methods and apparatus for drying hair which overcome certain deficiencies of conventional approaches. In this regard, U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,739, incorporated herein by reference, illustrates an embodiment of a hair dryer apparatus in which a circular array of nozzles is situated about a toroidal tube. The nozzles are angled such that heated air will be focussed toward a common point ahead of the array. When the dryer is positioned such that the scalp is between this common point and the circular array, hair will be lifted and agitated so as to provide enhanced drying conditions.